Panamama

Who cleans their house on the same day they've invited a school friend and his older brother home for a playdate after school? An idiot, d'ya reckon? Yep, that was me yesterday. Hey, there's nothing like the knowledge that someone you don't know very well (ie the playdates' mother) will be seeing inside your house to get you away from the computer and actually doing that housework. It's as motivating as a deadline. And really, they didn't do too much damage, mess-wise. A few more crumbs on the floor than normal but it takes the same amount of time to sweep up.

The older-brother-from-grade-2 invited himself (I love how kids can do that!) and how could I refuse him? It was no big deal, the Climber likes both of them. But I felt sorry for the younger boy who was really excited to come over and play at our house and ended up being a bit left out because the Climber gravitated towards the big kid. As you do.

Nevertheless, it was good to shake off the unnatural Martha Stewart pose (what with my sparkling-clean house, entertaining of offspring and friends, offering of home-baked cake and preparation of family dinner for instant dishing-up as soon as guests leave) to go out with the girls last night to the groovy Panama Rooms in Smith Street. We were photographed by a dude from the Melbourne Magazine so its confirmed, we are way cool and hip. Well, we will be if they use the photos of our group... and you know, that felt good because the girls in this case were the Mums from Prep T. And it felt really good to eat someone else's cooking, to have slightly too much red wine and to have a good laugh with a really fab bunch of women. Love a good girl's night out.

This morning Mr Fixit took our car in for servicing so the boys and I caught the tram to school. It's one of the joys of parenthood how kids can change the status of something that could potentially be a drag into an exciting adventure (or vice versa!). Anyway, apart from it being very squashy we had a fun trip and I think it was marginally quicker by tram. The Cherub was just the right height to be knocked around by high-school-kids' bags so it was good when someone offered us a seat eventually. More photos here.